Technique for counting values in a register
US9361105B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 2013 |
| Grant date | Jun 7, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/30036
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A parallel counter accesses data generated by an application and stored within a register. The register includes different segments that include different portions of the application data. The parallel counter is configured to count the number of values within each segment that have a particular characteristic in a parallel fashion. The parallel counter may then return the individual segment counts to the application, or combine those segment counts and return a register count to the application. Advantageously, applications that rely on population count operations may be accelerated. Further, increasing the number of segments in a given register may reduce the time needed to count the values in that register, thereby providing a scalable solution to population counting. Additionally, the architecture of the parallel counter is sufficiently flexible to allow both register counting and segment counting, thereby combining two separate functionalities into just one hardware unit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.